Milestone: Microsoft now has 10,000 patents

Microsoft said this morning that it had been awarded its 10,000th patent.

And what was patent 10,000? Well, it was U.S. Patent No. 7,479,950, “Manipulating association of data with a physical object.” What does that mean for Microsoft? Microsoft says the method applies to its Surface table-top computer. Place an object on the Surface and the computer can identify it. Read the patent here.

In addition to the 10,000 figure, Microsoft is calling attention this morning to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ December patent rankings, which ranked Microsoft’s patent portfolio strongest among software companies.

Another patent statistic: Last year, Microsoft was issued the fourth most patents of any company in the U.S. Topping the list was IBM (4,186), followed by Samsung (3,515), Canon (2,114), and then Microsoft with 2,030.